Mystery Gas Stanks Up Midtown NYC

Damn Chelsea homos:

- Authorities were investigating the source of a mysterious gas-like odor Monday that stretched across a large part of Manhattan, including Rockefeller Center.

The Fire Department began getting calls about the odor around 9 a.m. Monday, said spokesman Tim Hinchey.

Consolidated Edison was investigating, utility spokeswoman Joy Faber said.

Across the Hudson River, Jersey City, N.J., mayor's spokeswoman Maria Pignataro said officials there were told the odor was due to a gas leak in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, just north of Greenwich Village.

"The smell was very strong. It was very scary," said Yolanda Van Gemd, an administrator at ASA, a business school near the Empire State Building that was evacuated as a precaution.

A reader at Park and fifty-something writes:

I'm here at my desk and the fire marshall just came over the loudspeaker telling us the "odor" is coming from outside the building.

There is an odor, not too bad, can't really compare it to anything. Not food.

...

It's sort of like gas but a bit different. Everyone is talking about it in my building but so far it seems to be benign. My wife tells me it's blowing over from Jersey City; officials say no evidence of terrorism. Probably nothing but as you can imagine it's just plain scary.

Indeed, probably nothing. Although the possibility that this has a brown-person origin just made me create my own noxious odors.

posted by Ace at 11:50 AM

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